Current Projects

ROBORDER aims at developing and demonstrating a fully-functional autonomous border surveillance system with unmanned mobile robots including aerial, water surface, underwater and ground vehicles which will incorporate multimodal sensors as part of an interoperable network. Our intention is to implement a heterogenous robot system and enhance it with detection capabilities for early identification of criminal activities at border and coastal areas along with marine pollution events.

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The final goal of the AMPERE Project is the setting-up of an innovative 100 MWp full-scale automated pilot line in production environment while preparing the next steps to 250 MWp and the GWp scale.

Within this framework, the aim of AMPERE is to develop an EU innovative and sustainable manufacturing full-scale automated industrial pilot line, to produce heterojunction technology (HJT) silicon solar cells and modules. The expected impact of AMPERE is a regain of competitiveness in the entire EU PV value chain (from materials, to equipment and cell/module manufacturers).

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Intelligent power networks are urgently required to integrate the growing number of distributed energy sources and generators into our energy system. 18 of Europe’s top research institutions have joined forces in order to pool together their know-how and improve research infrastructures within the smart grid sector.

Developing an integrated research infrastructure for smart grid systems is the target of the EU-funded ERIGrid - European Research Infrastructure supporting Smart Grid Systems Technology Development, Validation and Roll Out - project.

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The HighLite project aims to substantially improve the competitiveness of the EU PV manufacturing industry by developing knowledge-based manufacturing solutions for high-performance low-cost modules with excellent environmental profiles (low CO2 footprint, enhanced durability, improved recyclability).

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Opto-electronic devices are opening exciting new applications everyday. With new display options using pliable substrates such as plastic and flexible glass, OLEDs manufacturers are bringing a wide range of new applications in lighting (e.g. energy efficient lighting) and different type of displays. Similarly, with the emergence of thin-film technologies in the solar cells market, new applications ranging from installations on curved surfaces to building-integrated PV has become possible.

However, to meet the industry requirements for mass production, including low cost, manufacturing volumes and efficiency, many challenges still need to be addressed. These challenges for OPV, OLED and CIGs are scale-up from laboratory to mass production, selection of efficient manufacturing processes, employing inspection, control and measurement techniques to improve yield, quality and time-to-market.

OLEDSOLAR aims to tackle these challenges by developinginnovative manufacturing processes for critical steps in the production of opto-electronic devices including OLEDs, OPVs and CIGs solar cells. The proposed activities include reconfigurable high yield (>10% improvement) processes to be scaled up, tested at pilot lines and implemented in production line for validation. A complete system of inspection, quality control, functional testing and measurements using advance system and sensors will be optimised in the project for efficient manufacturing of opto-electronics parts. Recycling and reuse strategies will be developed allowing resource efficiency and reduction of high value product wastes. Automation and advance processing software will be developed for overall control and monitoring of roll-to-roll (R2R) and sheet-to-sheet (S2S) manufacturing process.

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Perovskite technology is rapidly advancing, providing lighting manufacture, the renewable energy industry and the communications sector with low-cost and high-quality materials indispensable for the production of competitive devices in the frame of the organic and large-area electronics (OLAE) market. However, these materials are exclusively studied for next-generation solar cell development. The EU-funded PeroCUBE project proposes a study focused on scalable production processes (roll-to-roll printing) and future market entry of advanced products by advancing halide perovskite technology. The project will be deployed in the European lighting industry with large-area lighting panels, in the renewable energy industry with advanced perovskite-based photovoltaic panels and in the next generation of visual light communication/LiFi technologies.

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TeaM Cables will develop a novel multiscale approach for more precise estimation of the cable lifetime. The project will analyse the effects of irradiation and temperatures on cables from micro- to macroscale level, in order to develop multiscale models of ageing. Ageing in normal operation conditions and accidental conditions will be addressed. The unique multi-scale and kinetic models produced by the project will be integrated into an open access tool – the TeaM Cables tool – which will be built on the merger of a currently used European cable management tool with a cable ageing modelling tool. In parallel, criteria and protocols for on-site use of non-destructive testing techniques will be proposed.

• Cables, especially their insulation and jacket materials made of polymers, are vulnerable to ageing degradation during normal operation and accidents and means must be established to ensure that cable ageing does not lead to unsafe operation.
• Latest developments in polymer ageing research have revealed limits in current methods for estimating the lifetime of polymer materials. These are related to the lack of representativeness of accelerated ageing and the lack of consideration of the polymer composition (e.g. fillers, additives, antioxidants) in ageing models.

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The Data-Driven Bioeconomy project (DataBio) focuses on the production of best possible raw materials from agriculture, forestry and fishery for the bioeconomy industry to produce food, energy and biomaterials taking into account responsibility and sustainability.

In order to meet the above objectives, DataBio is controlling and putting to use the innovative ICTs and information flows centered mostly around the use of proximal and remote sensors, in order to provide a streamlined Big Data Infrastructure for data discovery, retrieval, processing and visualizing, in support to decisions in bioeconomy business operations.

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The internet of things (IoT) has revolutionary potential. A smart web of sensors, actuators, cameras, robots, drones and other connected devices allows for an unprecedented level of control and automated decision-making. The project Internet of Food & Farm 2020 (IoF2020) explores the potential of IoT-technologies for the European food and farming industry.

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The aim is to create a user platform across value chains and industries, thus promoting the digital networking of manufacturing companies, production machines and products.

The participating partners will examine methods, concepts and technologies for service-oriented architecture as well as for components and infrastructure in the Internet of Things. Other aspects are standardization and process virtualization, in other words, simulating manufacturing processes to optimize real workflows. The platform can be used in the three interlocked process pillars for managing the supply chains, the product life cycle and digital production.

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Qu4lity is the biggest European project dedicated to Autonomous Qu4lity (AQ) and Zero Defect Manufacturing (ZDM) in the Industry 4.0.

Qu4lity will demonstrate, in a realistic, measurable and replicable way an open, certifiable and highly standardised, SME-friendly and transformative shared data-driven ZDM product and service model for Factory 4.0 through 14 pilot lines.

Qu4lity will also demonstrate how European industry can build unique and highly tailored ZDM strategies and competitive advantages through an orchestrated open platform ecosystem, ZDM atomized components and digital enablers across all phases of product and process lifecycle. The main goal is to build an autonomous quality model to meet the Industry 4.0 ZDM challenges.

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ACTIVAGE is a European Multi Centric Large Scale Pilot on Smart Living Environments. The main objective is to build the first European IoT ecosystem across 9 Deployment Sites (DS) in seven European countries, reusing and scaling up underlying open and proprietary IoT platforms, technologies and standards, and integrating new interfaces needed to provide interoperability across these heterogeneous platforms, that will enable the deployment and operation at large scale of Active & Healthy Ageing IoT based solutions and services, supporting and extending the independent living of older adults in their living environments, and responding to real needs of caregivers, service providers and public authorities.

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In the InForMed project an integrated pilot line for medical devices will be established, covering the complete innovation chain from technology concept to system qualification. It will include micro-fabrication, assembly and even the fabrication of smart catheters. Uniquely, the integrated pilot line is hosted by a large industrial end-user, and is specifically targeted and equipped to bridge the gap in the landscape of micro-fabrication of medical devices between concept creation and full-scale production.
39 Partners from 10 countries participate in the project to form manufacturing networks and an eco-system where new medical devices van be seeded and nurtured to grow into new business opportunities for Europe, in a time when there is a paradigm shift from large expensive diagnostic equipment towards small, disposable, minimal invasive and un-obtrusive diagnostic and therapeutic instruments and tools.
The Pilot line will be demonstrated by six demonstrator products which cover traditional, emerging, and entirely new market segments, in the domains of "Hospital and Heuristic Care as well as "Home Care and Well-being," and that demonstrate the trend towards "Smart Health" solutions.

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A single-access point to the best miniaturized Mid-IR technology provided by a consortium of leading companies in the field of photonics.

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The main objective of MOLOKO project is the manufacturing, implementation and validation of a self-managing and automatic miniaturized integrated photonic sensor to be used as process analytical instrumentation for fastresponse on-site monitoring of interest analytes for security and quality within milk supply chain. In particular, we aim at realizing multiplexing quantitative detection of up to 10 analytes among which food safety parameters, e.g. antibiotics (i.e. penicillin, ampicillin, cephalonium) and toxins (i.e. mycotoxins and bacterial toxins) and food quality parameters e.g. lactoferrin and caseins by implementing a highly-integrated optoplasmonic-microfluidic sensor in the strategic checkpoints along the entire supply and value chain of milk.

The MOLOKO miniaturized integrated photonic sensor is specifically designed according to milk primary production, processing and distribution end-users in order to enable and guarantee self-monitoring safety and quality standards by the use of a reliable, highly sensitive and specific, low-cost innovative self-screening photonic technology. The effectiveness and market-placement of the engineered functional prototype is quantitatively evaluated by direct comparison with respect to standard analytical methods and commercially available optical biosensors.

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PHABULOµS is the European one-stop shop for the manufacturing of free-form micro-optics offering accelerated innovation & production cycles from prototypes to piloting and large volume production

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PIXAPP is the world’s first open-access Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) Assembly and Packaging Pilot line, and helps users exploit the breakthrough advantages of PIC technologies.

PIXAPP consists of a highly-interdisciplinary team of Europe’s leading industrial & research organisations, and provides users with single-point access to PIC assembly and packaging.

The Pilot Line Gateway Office is PIXAPP‘s the easy-access interface for external users, and is located at the Tyndall National Institute, in Ireland. The Gateway is managed by an experienced team, including technical experts to review incoming user requests, and project managers to organise the PIXAPP supply chain.

PIXAPP bridges the ‘valley of death’ often associated with moving from prototyping to low-volume fabrication, by giving companies an easy-access route to transferring R&D results to the market.

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agROBOfood is an EU funded project aiming to build a European ecosystem for the effective adoption of robotic technologies in the agri food sector, which in turn will become more efficient and competitive. The heart of the project is formed by Innovation Experiments, organized and monitored by Digital Innovation Hubs. In 7 Regional Clusters, Initial Innovation Experiments will demonstrate robotics innovations in agri food, in a manner that ensures replicability and wide adoption across Europe. Digital Innovation Hubs will support companies in digitization by connecting various stakeholders. agROBOfood already connects the world of Robotics and Agriculture, R&D and business by establishing a sustainable network of Digital Innovation Hubs.

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FED4SAE is built upon the key learnings obtained in the EuroCPS, Gateone-project, CPSE Labs IAs. FED4SAE will leverage the best practices related to Third party engagement, submission, evaluation and selection of AEs. FED4SAE will give birth to a competitive ecosystem where European Startups, SMEs and Midcaps will thrive as they access to leading technology sources, competencies and industrial platforms and also to well-connected business infrastructures and existing regional innovation hubs.

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IBISBA is designed to accelerate end-to-end bioprocess development, linking best-in-class R&D facilities to provide seamless multi-technology services.

Focusing on the different R&D phases in bioprocess development, IBISBA offers services related to computer-assisted design of biocomponents, construction of enzymes and microbial strains, the fermentation, downstream processing and project knowledge asset management.

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The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation and Synthetic Biology Accelerator (EU IBISBA) supports research in industrial biotechnology by providing access to first-class facilities for all industrial biotechnology professionals. In 2018, this European distributed research infrastructure concept was incorporated into the road map of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures. An immediate consequence was the entry of the project into the preparation phase. The aim of the EU-funded follow-up project PREP-IBISBA is to create the conditions for EU-IBISBA to become a fully operational European research infrastructure in the coming years. The project will help EU-IBISBA define a business model, establish a long-range financial plan and identify suitable legal frameworks to support its operation.

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The market for organic & printed electronic products is growing at a high level (BUS$ 23-24 in 2014) with predicted annual growth rates of 20 % in all fields. Although the use of OLAE in products is still limited and only have been commercialized by large corporates, the number and type of products has grown significantly. These emerging markets are a huge opportunity for the EU industry. But EU small & mid-size companies have had only a limited access to technologies and often lack the capabilities needed to benefit from OLAE. These include the ability to fully understand the technological implications and the related business implications. They need support in the translation of the OLAE technologies into innovative products, assessing potential markets, finding investors, developing new business models and creating the right partnerships to optimally benefit from OLAE opportunities.
SMARTEES will be the Digital Innovation Hub dedicated to OLAE, an organized European innovation network that provides both access to competencies and business support for innovation adoption. SMARTEES will help the European industry to create a competitive advantage within the global economy by providing access to disruptive OLAE technologies and innovation support in a pragmatic, operative and efficient pan-European manner.

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SmartEEs2 is a Digital Innovation Hub with a strong technological OLAE platform dedicated to Flexible & Wearable Electronics (FWE). One objective is easy access to digital innovation. This is to ensure growing awareness and interest in the opportunities of (FWE) technologies within European industry, investors, governments and other important stakeholders. Another objective is high-value services to innovating companies. This means provide high value services in an affordable manner to help EU companies in digitalising their business thanks to FWE technologies testing, experimentation and manufacturing support. A third goal is building an ecosystem of DIHs in the field of FWE to increase the users' base and create a sustainable and collaborative network on pan-EU scale. This will ensure that any business in Europe has access to a DIH at ‘a working distance’.

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Objective 1: Accelerate the Artificial Intelligence (AI) adaptation to serve European priorities in the digitizing of the industry
In particular, this means fostering the application of Artificial Intelligence in all European industries in order to gain profit from the efficiency increases, extended knowledge and new forms of control, organization, and business models. Europe urgently needs to take the chances AI brings to synergistically use it with intrinsic strength of being able to create, develop, and manufacture highly complex products.

Objective 2: Maximize the benefits of Moore’s Law and More Moore, and revive Moore’s Law beyond the current technology
AI gives the chance to be able to create processes and products, which follow the Maxime of Moore’s Law, and furthermore AI can even drive the semiconductor industry to a level of More Moore. In a time where the Si technologies progress very fast towards its physical boards AI offers, the chance to create new products with vastly increased functionalities, especially by the transition of AI towards the edge devices. Dedicated sensors with hardware integrated AI functions as well as dedicated central processing units with hardware integrated AI functions can transform the way people as well as the industry perceives computational power since these devices offer the chance to integrate intelligence for enhanced sensing, improved collaboration and complex self-organizing control systems which can react more flexible than today’s deterministic systems. In addition, significant performance increases are realizable since these devices do not rely on conventional analytical models, which can become very time consuming, especially when processing multi-parameter-sets.

Objective 3: Build a European AI community with European values
AI can be perceived as a tool for solving certain tasks. Thereby many people believe it is necessary to use AI like every other mathematical tool they have adapted to over years. However, the usage and implementation strategies are certainly much more different than people are used to. AI methods are much more flexible and faster to build than most people believe. In particular the flexibility AI methods offer is new to most users. Once a powerful neural network is configured, the only difference between being able to identify/cluster everyday objects and integrated circuits is the training data which has been utilized. Knowing that difference to classical model-based approaches makes it possible to exchange powerful methods/tools in between different industries. Thus, AI4DI wants to foster the collaboration among the industries and academia in order to utilize new findings faster between industries in order to be.

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The ConnectedFactories project establishes a structured overview of available and upcoming technological approaches and best practices with regard to the digitalisation of manufacturing. The project identifies present and future needs, as well as challenges, of the manufacturing industries.

The project explores pathways to the digital integration and interoperability of manufacturing systems and processes and the benefits this will bring.

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This proposal describes the third stage of the EC-funded part of the Graphene Flagship. It builds upon the results achieved in the ramp-up phase (2013 - 2016) and the first core project (2016 - 2018), and covers the period April 2018 - March 2020.

The progress of the flagship follows the general plans set out in the Framework Partnership Agreement, and the second core project represents an additional step towards higher technology and manufacturing readiness levels. The Flagship is built upon the concept of value chains, one of which is along the axis of materials-components-systems; the ramp-up phase placed substantial resources on the development of materials production technologies, the first core project moved to emphasise components, and the second core project will move further towards integrating components in larger systems. This evolution is manifested, e.g., in the introduction of six market-motivated spearhead projects during the Core 2 project.

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A multi-KET (key enabling technologies) approach is most beneficiary for SME in regard to increase in productivitiy, efficiency and market shares. To enable a Pan-European Access for SME on technology services for clean production, a network of premier KET Technology Centres with facilitated one stop shop access, offering SME multi-ket infrastructures and services across borders on pan-european level is generated, involving innovation consultants from the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) being local = at the doorstep of EU`s manufacturing SMEs.

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Since the publication of the first list of Critical Raw Materials (CRM) in 2010 by the Ad-hoc Working Group on CRM, numerous European projects have addressed (part of) the CRMs value and several initiatives have contributed to gather (part of) the related community into clusters and associations. This led to the production of important knowledge, unfortunately disseminated. Numerous databases have also been developed, sometimes as duplicates.
For the first time in the history, SCRREEN aims at gathering European initiatives, associations, clusters, and projects working on CRMs into along lasting Expert Network on Critical Raw Materials, including the stakeholders, public authorities and civil society representatives.
SCRREEN will contribute to improve the CRM strategy in Europe by (i) mapping primary and secondary resources as well as substitutes of CRMs, (ii) estimating the expected demand of various CRMs in the future and identifying major trends, (iii) providing policy and technology recommendations for actions improving the production and the potential substitution of CRM, (iv) addressing specifically WEEE and other EOL products issues related to their mapping and treatment standardization and (vi) identifying the knowledge gained over the last years and easing the access to these data beyond the project.
The project consortium also acknowledges the challenges posed by the disruptions required to devlop new CRM strategies, which is why stakeholder dialogue is at the core of SCRREEN: policy, society, R&D and industrial decision-makers are involved to facilitate strategic knowledge-based decisions making to be carried out by these groups. A specific attention will also be brought on informing the general public on our strong dependence on imported raw materials, on the need to replace rare materials with substitutes and on the need to set up innovative and clean actions for exploration, extraction, processing and recycling.

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